When Maya Angelou Came to Framingham

A late entry in the spirit of Throwback Thursday, also inspired by the recent mini-event with Toni Bee's poem on Maya Angelou being recited on the radio.  When I was a Junior at Framingham State College (now Framingham State University), we had the thrill of having Maya Angelou come to speak there in February 1994.

It's one of the times when I wish I could go back in time with an iPhone.  Then again, the lack of easy technology back then might be why I remember that night so well.  Aside from speaking on Black History Month, she shared a number of stories, including one about her Uncle Willie teaching her how to recite her times tables (details in the article below), culminating (somewhat too crazy to believe) meeting a mayor of her old hometown praising her uncle for teaching him as well.  Then there was her off-page recitation of poets from Edgar Allan Poe to William Shakespeare to Nikki Giovanni.  So much good stuff.  Too much to remember it all.  I hope film of her night there (if any) still exists somewhere.

During my college years, I obsessively saved copies of every copy of the school's student newspaper that I worked on.  It didn't take long for me to dig it up so I could share it with you.

I remember the editor letting the author of the article (whose name I omitted in case they aren't cool with it) be a little more flowery with the language and less "newsy." Which is why the writer took liberties in quoting me for the article!!!  Even though I think the writer waited till we were working on the issue in the newsroom to do so.  The reason why no one bothered to talk to any of the multitudes of people there at the time is a mystery me now (if I even knew why then).

Clearly I was trying WAY too hard to "give good quote.'

I was the only the editor of the paper's comics section at the time, but I wrote a lot for its Living/Arts section until I became the section's editor during my senior year.  I wasn't able to conduct an interview with her (no one was).  Having read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings in my sophomore year and collections of her works before that, I wanted to be part of the Big Issue of Angelou somehow.  The article below was what the best I could come up with (aided with a press packet photo).

I can't even bear to read it, but I know for a fact it wasn't the worst thing I ever wrote.  That honor is for something I wrote my Freshman year.  I vow to reveal that to people immediately after I win the Pulitzer Prize.